One thing our family has been up to...

 

2015: Lewandowski Family Year in Review

So 2015 is almost another chapter in the books... Blogging seems to have become a thing of the past for us.  Blogging... Is it the flip phone of social media?  Below is a brief recap of some of the most important things that happened in our family this year.

Family 
Accomplishments:  Visited Myrtle Beach, SC,   Charlotte, NC,   Minnesota (Seeing many family members and friends), Omaha, NE and Branson, MO all in our Honda Odyssey Minivan.  Road Trip!!!    Balanced full-time teaching careers, school careers, and a full-time nanny in our home.  Mastered 4 player Minecraft on our Xbox 360.  Founded Lew Scouts-  a small organization dedicated to fun, family, friendship, and adventure.

Kitchen:  Before... (But after wallpaper removal and floor remodel) and After!

Life Events: Kitchen Makeover 2015 (Goodbye Honey Oak!)  

Goals:  Do a "long-term" tent camping trip (3-5 nights) in a national park in 2016!



Tom - Thirty something.
 
Accomplishment:  Finished his first full school year and began a second year teaching 9th grade English at Rogers New Technology High School  This project-based learning school is making waves in education as the facilitators guide learners through projects that integrate American History and Literature.  Tom loves his work and does it well.  He's also been an enthusiastic bicycle commuter, taking advantage of bike trails and city streets on his daily 10 mile commute.
Life event:  Celebrated seven wonderful years of marriage to Karine. Other events TBD
Goal:  TBD


Karine- Also thirty-something  (though 3 months younger than Tom)
Accomplishment:  Began 10th year of teaching this year.  I teach 6th, 7th and 8th grade ESL classes at Lingle Middle School in Rogers.  These classes are for students who primarily speak Spanish or another language at home, and are still working towards academic proficiency in their reading, writing, and speaking.  I spent a big part of my summer writing curriculum for our district.  I love my small classes and personal relationships with many of my students!
Life event:  I gave away the last of my maternity clothes this year!  :)  4 kids in, I'm embracing motherhood and stretching and growing each day as I meet a new stage of motherhood.  Tom and I also worked very hard on a kitchen makeover this August/September and it's made cooking dinner each night so much more exciting!
Goal: Fitness in 2015!

Zeke: Almost 7 years old... 
 
Accomplishment:  Reader of the Week 2 times over this school year.  Also, Zeke's Cave Den in Minecraft (an online/Xbox video game) is off the hook.  He loves all things Minecraft, Lego and science shows with Dad.  Favorite shows include Nova, Cosmos, and anything science/geology.
Life event:  Finished kindergarten and began 1st Grade with a bang!
Goal: Become a Geologist and get that first pesky wiggly front tooth to come out.

Ezra:  Turned 5 on November 7.

Accomplishment:  Sending thoughtful hand-made gifts to school with every member of the family this year.  This generous member of the family has honed his artistry this year, and enjoys coloring, drawing, and creating gifts for others.
Life event:  Ezra has developed muscle tone as he proves to be an athlete.  He runs, jumps, plays and gives 100% of his energy and emotion in all that he does.  Ezra loves soccer, wrestling, snuggling, and making art.
Goal: Ride a bike without training wheels.

Zadie:   Turned 5 on November 7.
Accomplishment:  Style!  Zadie has started to develop her own taste and style for what she wears.
Life event:  Zadie has taken pride in learning to sing along with several of her favorite "hits" like Katy Perry's "Roar" and Zedd's chart topper "Clarity".  Zadie loves jumping on the trampoline, playing with animals and teaching others about the My Little Pony wonders of Equestria.  Her favorite pony is Pinkie Pie because of her social and party planning skills.
Goal: Become a "Microphone Singer".

Elizabeth:  Turned 1 on September 3.

Accomplishment:  Walking!  Ellie took her first steps right after her 1st birthday, but waited until almost 15 months old to really begin walking full time.  She climbs ladders, on top of tables, chases siblings and tells others "No, no!"  about a myriad of household activities.  This little firecracker is sure
to bring us many adventures in 2016.

Life event: Eating solid foods, talking, walking, not sleeping through the night, keeping up with brothers and sister!
Goal: Learn to talk and eliminate diapers from Lewandowski home FOREVER!!!

Happy Birthday Elizabeth Jean Lewandowski

Elizabeth Jean Lewandowski has arrived!

On September 3, 2014, our family welcomed Elizabeth into the world.  She was born at 4:01pm, weighing 8 lbs. 6 oz. and was 20 inches long.  We are thrilled!

The Birth Story:

Labor Day (9/1) had come and gone, and no baby yet.   I had begun teaching for the first week of Professional Development and the first two weeks with middle school students.  I had planned to begin my leave on Labor Day and the baby was going to arrive then.  Tuesday (9/2), I went to see the doc and while I was dilated some, she wasn't coming yet.  I was hoping to have a VBAC again, and my doctor was on board, as long as all was going okay.
The doctor offered me two options- wait it out and see when baby girl decided to arrive (however, he was going out of town and wouldn't be able to deliver past Wednesday) or induce delivery on Wednesday morning (40 weeks) and have a plan in place with all of the big players present (my doc, Tom, nanny for kids, granparents on deck).  I was ready to meet this little girl!

So, Tuesday night we loaded up Zeke, Ezra, and Zadie and brought them over to Nana and Papa's house.  After the dropoff, we headed out for a "last supper" before being parents of 4.  Zaxby's buffalo chicken salad was my choice. Yum!

In the early, dark, hours of the morning on September 3, we headed off to the hospital.  I got checked in and the hooked me up to the IV and Pitocin.  The nurses had induced thousands of women, so they told me early on that based on what they'd seen, I would probably labor with contractions from about 9am-3:30pm, and then the baby would be born sometime between 3:30 and 4:00pm.

Experience with the twins had taught me that an epidural was my friend.  As soon as the contractions began to be too uncomfortable, I had an epidural put in.  We then proceeded to watch 8 or 9 episodes of HGTV's best- Real estate brothers, house filpping, and even a few food shows.  Just after 3:30 the nurse came in and told me that I was fully dilated, and the doc would be in soon. It was time to push and meet this baby girl!

I was eager to meet our baby girl, and I pushed like crazy.  After 3 totally incredible pushes on my part, she was almost out.  One final push and our baby girl was born!  4:01 pm on on September 3.  She cried right away and we could see that she was big and healthy!

In those first hours, Elizabeth quickly latched on and began breastfeeding.  She was so sweet and we all loved her immediately.  We had visits from the big kids and Nana and Papa.  We watched some more HGTV, Elizabeth slept and we were in new baby blissland.

On day 2, the doctors suggested that Elizabeth would benefit from spending some time under the lamps, as she was a bit jaundiced.  It was tough to see our little baby girl under the big lights, but after an extra night in the hospital under the light, she was finally ready to go home.

And that's the story of our sweet baby Elizabeth's birth!

Hey! We're having a 4th Baby!

The bump came on a lot faster and seemed bigger than the others...

3-D Ultrasound Pic- Isn't she cute!   

Off to the hospital to have a baby!  9/3/14

Zeke's 5th Birthday Party

Lego! Lego! Lego!  On February 2, Zeke turned 5! He had a Lego-themed birthday this year.  6 little boys from his preschool class (and a few younger siblings and parents) celebrated Zeke's 5th birthday last weekend.  We extended the Lego theme about as far as we could manage.  Lego invitations were sent out.

We melted crayons into minifigure molds as a part of the goodie bags for guests. I purchased some handy-dandy silicone molds off of Amazon that we used for the cool minifigure crayons and brick-candy cupcake toppers.  The bricks we made out of Wilton Candy melts (the same thing people use for cake pops and such).  I loved how our pre-party crafting worked out!  

I made the piñata out of two cereal boxes, paper maché and some tissue paper.  The weather didn't allow for an outside piñata, but Tom rigged up his branch-trimming pole and used a chair to bring the fun indoors!

CANDY!!!!

We served pizza, apple juice, fruit, and cupcakes!  Zeke decorated the plates to resemble his favorite minifigure faces.  

Games included:  

Tower building contests  (Awards given to tallest, squarest, strongest base, wiggliest, and cutest), 

Lego-bag toss, and brick free-play.  

Zeke even received some awesome gifts from his friends.  It was such a fun party!  

Lewandowski Year in Review 2013

The year has been busy.  So busy we haven't blogged.  The year has, however, been wonderful and we wanted to share a sort of "Christmas Letter" with those who may be interested.  I often find it awkward to try to write a Christmas letter in 3^rd person.  Instead, I’ll just write in first person, and you’ll have to know that the “I” is Karine.  :)

Winter –Spring 2013 

Big changes in the household!  In January, I went back to work as a teacher.  I accepted a position as an ESL English and Reading teacher.  I began in an elementary school and moved up to a middle school position in March.  I love being an active part of the Rogers Public School system here and have found it rewarding to work with students whose families speak mostly Spanish. 

My return to teaching coincided with a semester of evening graduate school classes for Tom and full-time Stay At Home Dad during the daytime.  What a special time this was for both father and children.  They had some incredible bonding and our house was somehow always clean!  He’s a wonderful father and the kids flourished with the extra dad-time.   Tom took education classes towards his Master of Art in Teaching at the University of Arkansas.  His favorite class was an Adolescent Literature class that focused on graphic novels and comic books. 

Zeke, Zadie, and Ezra enjoyed playing outside daily in the warm Arkansas winter and early spring.  They loved their “WHEEEEEEE”s (big pushes on the swings), digging in the sandbox, and walks to the neighborhood park.  Tom took the kids on several outings including a few visits to the incredibly awesome Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.  Zeke attended preschool 2 mornings per week and loved playing with his friends there. 

Summer 2013

Potty Training!!!!  For the past 4.5 years, we have had 2-3 kids in diapers.  We very much looked forward to the day that we would not have diapers around our house anymore.  Success!!!!  Our house became diaper-free in June.  We haven’t looked back since.  J 

More graduate school…  I took part in a 2 week intensive graduate coursework program called ESL Academy.  13 long days of studying and classes for me, and long summer days at home for the kids and Tom.   Tom also took graduate classes in July in preparation for his student teaching/internship in the fall. 

Swimming-  we loved the water this summer!  Rogers just built a new Aquatic Center that we visited a few times.  We also liked the Bentonville city pool and a few others we managed to dive into.   The twins jumped off the side of the pool thousands of times and Zeke discovered the magic of swimming.  Once he got his face in the water, he was able to swim independently- this was so exciting for a couple of former-lifeguard parents. 

In July, we traveled north for a two-week visit to Minnesota.  There, we spent time with the Piersmas and other friends, we connected with Nelson/Zabell cousins and family, and we enjoyed a bit of time in the Twin Cities. 

Then, we reunited with the Lewandowski/Notch/Roesner cousins, aunts, uncles, and Grandma Jean.  Our annual trip to New Frontier Resort up in Park Rapids was full of sunshine and memory-making.  sun, sand, crafts, food, and late nights. 

Fall –Winter (again!)2013

School began in August, along with more big changes for our family.  I was still teaching middle school ESL, and Tom began his year-long student teaching internship as an English teacher.  He was placed at Oakdale Middle school, where I actually teach for the first two periods of the day before traveling to a different middle school.  We enjoyed driving to school together and bumping into each other in the teacher’s lounge.  Tom found success in engaging students in writing projects.  I thought the most interesting project he did was the “Soundtrack of My Life” project in which students wrote and shared about their personal connections to songs.  It was a great way to learn more about the lives of these kids. 

Speaking of kids, our own have been thriving this fall/early winter!  We hired a nanny over the summer who comes to our house each school day and lovingly cares for our three kids.  She’s actually a twin herself and is still best friends with her brother today!  Our nanny has become a special part of our family this year and we are grateful for a dependable, loving, and creative childcare provider. 

 

Zeke has continued to attend a morning preschool program for 4 year olds here at a local church.  He’s mastered numbers and letter sounds this fall and will be moving toward reading some beginning words in the next few months!  His #1 hobby is playing with Legos.  Zeke even sleeps with a Lego catalog next to his bed every night (and has been since July) He loves to build and create all types of rescue vehicles with crazy adaptations.  Tom and Ezra also have joined Zeke in building some cities and towns on our Lego table.   

 

Our twins are growing so quickly too!  They celebrated their 3^rd birthdays in November, and we can hardly believe how quickly time has gone.  Ezra is no longer our quiet and reserved toddler.  He’s loud and strong!  Ezra loves to play superheros, holler, run, and jump!  Ezra is also really into painting and art this year.  He loves doing art projects, and our nanny has been happy to indulge him!  Ezra has fun exploring games and activities outside like soccer, digging in the sandbox, and chasing the dog.   While he loves to play hard, he can snuggle and cuddle with the best of them!

 

Zadie is growing into such a sweet little girl.  She’s happy to tag along with her brothers and play with them, yet can play independently for an hour in her own fantasy world.  She loves wearing tutus, singing original songs (often about following rules) , and playing with her (imaginary) “ballet friends.”  While Zadie has not begun any formal ballet training, a great deal of dancing is done in our living room and kitchen each night.  She adores our dog, Roxy, and the love is reciprocated by the dog.  It’s a special bond. 

As for me, (Karine- in case you forgot who was writing this), I’ve been happily finding my rhythm as a working mom.  I love my job, and appreciate that my schedule allows me to be with my family by 4pm most days.  I’ve enjoyed doing some craft and sewing projects, trying new recipes, and reading a few books in the evenings.  I look forward to Friday nights all week long.  We celebrate “Family Movie Night” every Friday with pizza and a movie for the whole family.  It’s a fun small tradition that I cherish. 

 

As we move into 2014, we look forward to many adventures.  We’d love to host visitors here in Rogers, Arkansas (seriously!)  and welcome our friends and family to look us up.  May your holidays be filled with blessings and light!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 

The Lewandowski Family

Karine, Tom, Zeke, Ezra, and Zadie